Last Thursday I came home from work after visiting a client in Winston-Salem. I sat Andrea down and said “we have to talk.”

“That trip I just took was more than just a business trip. I’ve met a lovely young lady named Robin, and I’m in love …”

after a pause for affect,

“… with the cars she sells.”

I pulled out the sales brochure for the 2005 Mini Cooper.

Apparently there was something off in my delivery, ’cause she didn’t take the bait. Maybe I was still grinning from my test drive.

Next year I turn 40, and in November my pickup truck turns 10 years old. I have adopted my father’s method of buying a new vehicle and keeping it for ten years, so next year would be the first year I could consider another vehicle.

I like my truck, especially on our dirt roads, but I am really not a truck guy. I’d like a car, and I have several criteria:

• Seats four people, not necessarily comfortably, but it would be nice.
• Small enough to fit in the garage.
• Good gas mileage.
• Fun to drive, unusual, or both.

The mini meets all of these. It will seat four (or two and luggage), it’s definitely small enough for the garage, and with mileage in the high 20s (city) to high 30s (highway), it’s one of the best cars with respect to fuel economy you can get without buying a hybrid. At US$25,950 it’s pretty affordable for a new car.

And boy is this sucker fun to drive. I’m 6 foot 2 inches tall, and I need to slide the seat forward (extremely rare in any car I drive). The Cooper S (which comes with a supercharger) isn’t blindingly fast off the line, but it is quick, and it handles incredibly well, due to its wide stance and low center of gravity.

When we were heading back to the showroom during the test drive, I noticed the left arrow of the stoplight about a quarter of a mile ahead just turned green. I punched the accelerator, shifting the six-speed as needed, and I was probably doing about 45 by the time I entered the intersection and started to make the left.

Just then, a car facing the other way decided to do a right turn on red into the middle lane of the multi-lane roadway. I quickly steered to the right in the middle of making my turn in order to avoid a collision, and for the heck of it, punched the accelerator again (grin).

The Mini acted like it was on rails.

I’m not going to do anything for awhile yet, especially since my 10 years aren’t up and the road to my house, that they are supposed to pave no later than next spring, is still gravel.

But until then, it’s not a question of if I’ll get a Mini, but when.